Saturday, January 22, 2011

Robert Knight is a long-time anti-lgbt activist. During stints with the Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America, he was one of the main voices in denying the lgbt community our equality, even stooping to citing the discredited research of Paul Cameron on numerous occasions.

Knight also helped to write the awful DOMA law that we are trying hard to overturn.

Nowadays, he hangs his hat at Coral Ridge Ministries and the American Civil Rights Union, where he now excels in not only not lying about the lgbt community but also other things such as President Obama's address in Tucson after that terrible shooting.

Knight's column on Obama's address can only be described as a mindless hit piece more interested in causing damage than making sense. He criticized Obama on almost every aspect of the speech, including his comments about little Christina Green, the nine-year-old girl who lost her life in the tragedy.

A perfect example of Knight's "no lie is too ugly to use" tenor in his column is the following claim:

When, for instance, have you been to a memorial service where cheers and yells punctuated the eulogy and where political campaign T-shirts were draped over seats or given out to mourners at the door?

That statement is a lie. The t-shirts were not campaign paraphernalia. The t-shirts, which read "Together We Thrive: Tucson & America," were creation of the University of Arizona.

Now some have said the t-shirts were tacky. Others have claimed that they are important because they united the community. Regardless of your opinion of the t-shirts, to implicate the Obama Administration in any way, shape, or form in their creation is a huge lie.

But that didn't stop Knight. And he isn't backing down on his claim, even after made aware of the truth. The following is an email exchange between him and me:

Me - Dear Mr. Knight,

I see that you have moved from lying about gays to just plain lying.

Your piece about Obama's speech in Tucson was a sad example of just why so many people have a bad impression of Christianity. The liars - like yourself - talk so much that no one speaking truth has a chance to get a word in edgewise. Particularly this sentence was a lie:

When, for instance, have you been to a memorial service where cheers and yells punctuated the eulogy and where political campaign T-shirts were draped over seats or given out to mourners at the door?

There were no campaign political T-shirts draped over the seats. These t-shirts, created by the University of Arizona, did not endorse any candidate nor any political party. They read "Together We Thrive: Tucson & America" - which emphasized support and solidarity after that awful tragedy.

Mr. Knight, you are a sad individual. It's one thing for you to believe your lies, but when you trot them out in the public square, you make a mockery out of those who truly believe in Christ.

Knight - Have you ever been to a memorial service where T shirts with slogans were handed out? And as far as the inappropriate behavior, it may not be Obama’s fault that people did shout outs, etc. But he could have put a stop to it immediately, reminding them of the solemnity of the occasion. He didn’t.

Me - But the t-shirts were not political, which means you told a lie. And far be it from anyone to lecture people on how they cope with tragedy. It wasn't the president's place to do this and just because he didn't is no reason to imply that his administration had anything to do with the t-shirts - lie number two on your part. The Bible speaks against bearing false witness.

Knight - You're stretching the false witness admonition to encompass a difference in opinion. That's a false witness in and of itself. The Unity message is quite political in that it implies that lack of unity caused the shootings, when in fact they were caused by whatever screw is loose inside Loughner's head.

Me - Mr. Knight, this is not a simple case of a difference of opinion. You implied that the t-shirts were campaign paraphernalia and that the Obama administration was behind it. And when the truth reveals just the opposite, you double down on the implication. That's not a difference of opinion on your part but bearing false witness and the spreading of lies.

Knight - You inferred. I said only what happened, which is that “political campaign T-shirts” were handed out. I believe that to be the case. It wasn’t quite as blatant as having shirts with “Change” on them, but it’s close. ASU, like other liberal campuses, is undoubtedly firmly in Democratic hands. By the way, who suggested anywhere that disunity would be a good thing? The Unity call is a sly libel on outspoken critics of Obama, Congress and the whole drive toward big government. By implication, the Tea Parties are supposed to stay quiet or risk being accused of spoiling unity.

Me - Mr. Knight, you have every right to believe what you want but as someone who wrote publicly about this event and also as one who calls himself a Christian, you have an obligation to be truthful. And it is sad that you chose to abandon both of those obligations. This is not about the tea party or politics of any stripe. This is about a simple issue of integrity and you have demonstrated your cluelessness about that word.

Knight - Fine. I didn't think reason would work. Liberals are immune. Believe what you will.

Hilarious conversation until you consider the fact that Knight (and so many others like him) have used that "I don't care what the truth says, if I hold fast to what I say then it will trump the truth" logic to the issue of lgbt equality.

Even when science shows time and time again that people do not choose to be gay, they continue to repeat the lie that the lgbt orientation is a "lifestyle."

Even when medical organizations time and time again prove that children suffer no harm while living in same-sex households, they will repeat the lie that lgbts somehow will harm children.

Even when several researchers complain about how their work has been distorted, Knight and company will ignore them or (as Knight did in the case of Robert Garofalo*) will attack their veracity while still distorting their work.

With Knight and company, we are dealing with people and groups who seem to think that constant repetition trumps truth.

Well they are wrong. Repetition never trumps truth. And lies told in the name of God are still lies.

As long as we remember this and challenge folks like Knight at every turn, we will win.

* In 1998, pediatrician Robert Garofalo complained that religious right groups were distorting his work on lgbt youth. Knight called Garofalo a "thrall of political correctness." - Boston doctor says ads distorted his work on gays, Anne E. Kornblutt, The Globe Staff, The Boston Globe, August 4, 1998

About Me

Alvin McEwen is 46-year-old African-American gay man who resides in Columbia, SC.
McEwen's blog, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, and writings have been mentioned by Americablog.com, Goodasyou.org, People for the American Way, PageOneQ.com, The Washington Post, Raw Story, The Advocate, Media Matters for America, Crooksandliars.com, Thinkprogress.org, Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish, Melissa Harris-Perry, The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, The Washington Blade, and Foxnews.com.
In addition, he is also a past contributor to Pam's House Blend,Justice For All, LGBTQ Nation, and Alternet.org. He is a present contributor to the Daily Kos and the Huffington Post,
He is the 2007 recipient of the Harriet Daniels Hancock Volunteer of the Year Award and the 2010 recipient of the Order of the Pink Palmetto from the SC Pride Movement as well as the 2009 recipient of the Audre Lorde/James Baldwin Civil Rights Activist Award from SC Black Pride. In addition, he is a three-time nominee of the Ed Madden Media Advocacy Award from SC Pride.